ST James, Jamaica (JIS) — Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New Fortress Energy, Wes Edens, says Jamaica’s move to acquire Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as an energy option is a giant leap in the country’s quest for economic growth.

Edens added that construction of the LNG terminal at the Montego Bay port and the channeling of the product through pipelines to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) power plant in Bogue, St James, should be viewed as a model for what is going to happen in the Caribbean and the rest of the world.

The CEO, who was speaking at the commissioning of LNG at the Bogue facility in St James on November 11, said Jamaica could not have made a safer bet than going the way of LNG, noting that it will be the predominant source of energy in the country for the foreseeable future.

Edens pointed out that several North American countries, as well as Mexico, Brazil and Australia, have been going the route of LNG.

“It is cheaper, more reliable, environmentally friendly and plentiful,” he noted.

He said that Jamaica, like the rest of the Caribbean, is too dependent on oil, adding that such a situation is not only troubling, but is a recipe for disaster.

The CEO said that since his company won the tender to bring LNG to Jamaica, it has received nothing but support from the JPS as well as the government.

“What you are seeing now is the natural-gas economy really happening. I am predicting that in a couple of years the majority of the energy here in Jamaica will be from natural gas and from natural resources,” he argued.

Edens said that in addition to the obvious economic benefits, the people of Jamaica would now have a cleaner environment in which to live and raise their families.

“We are citizens of the earth and we all want the same things. We want a completely fossil-free future and the LNG we are bringing here will be that bridge that we all will be able to cross,” he added.